Diane Fanning: Author, Speaker

January 13, 2009

The body of my non-fiction writing is stained with the agony of missing loved ones. In my first book, THROUGH THE WINDOW, some of the victims of Tommy Lynn Sells were found dead in their homes, others were missing for months and a few like Stephanie Stroh and Yvette Mueller remain missing decades after their deaths.

The serial killer in INTO THE WATER, Richard Marc Evonitz, abducted young girls from their front yards in broad daylight. Sofia Silva’s family spent two months in unrelenting pain not knowing what happened to the 15-year-old girl until her body was discovered in a lonely spot along the highway. The parents of Kati and Kristin Lisk suffered through an eternal week before their daughters’ remains were spotted in a logjam on a secluded stream.

I wrote about Susan McFarland in GONE FOREVER. She was missing for fifty-three days. While her whereabouts were unknown, her husband told their three little boys—ages 6, 8 and 11: “Your mommy needed a break from you because you are so bad.” With those hateful words, he compounded the evil he perpetrated when he killed their mother.

In BABY BE MINE, Lisa Montgomery killed Bobbie Jo Stinnett and kidnapped her unborn child. Frantic police sent out an Amber Alert and ran themselves ragged in the day and a half it took to find the missing newborn.

Phony doctor Dean Faiello inadvertently caused the death of his patient Maria Cruz in UNDER THE KNIFE. Instead of owning up to his responsibility, he buried her under a slab of concrete in the carriage house of his Victorian mansion, sold his home and partied in sunny Costa Rica. While he enjoyed the tropical life, Maria’s family died a little more every day. It took nine months before her body was found.

In my most recently released book, THE PASTOR’S WIFE, Mary and Matthew’s families were terrified when Matthew was found dead and Mary and her three little girls were missing. They feared the worst until police found Mary—she’d shot her sleeping husband in the back and then took her daughters to the beach.

This summer, my next true crime release, POISONED PASSION, details the misery of Michael Severance’s family. He was missing for two months before investigators found his mutilated body in a stock pond in the middle of nowhere. His veterinarian wife was found guilty of giving him a lethal injection.

Right now, I am working on a book about Caylee Anthony, the sweet little toddler who was missing for nearly six months before her discarded body was discovered. The whole nation grieved and prayed for her safe return. It isn’t easy to write this book—it is heartbreaking work writing the story of the death of the most innocent victim of all.

Written by HFTM · Filed Under Guest Blog 

Comments

7 Responses to “Diane Fanning: Author, Speaker”

  1. Grande on January 13th, 2009 12:39 pm

    And thank you for all you do Diane!

    I just completed Baby Be Mine. “Is it possible that she beat the plowshares of fantasy into the sword of truth as mile after mile passed beneath her wheels?”

    I look forward to reading many more from your portfolio of work. Thanks, as always~

  2. Pauli on February 11th, 2009 4:45 pm

    I love your work Diane and all that you do.

    Thank you

  3. Sarah on May 4th, 2009 10:50 am

    I am reading “Written in Blood” at the moment and I must say it is simply compelling. I just cannot put it down.

    What a fantastic author.

    Looking forward to the Caylee Anthony book.

  4. Jennifer Moore on May 16th, 2009 2:42 pm

    Diane….your work has brought light once again to mans world that was once dark. Marven Stroh smiles now, you helped make that happen. Thank you for helping us find the truth about what happened to Stephanie.

  5. Cindy LeSieur on February 28th, 2010 8:22 am

    Diane, I just read two of your books,Through the Windown which horrifies me beyond words.And Mommy’s little girl which makes me so angry-even if the mother is mental.(My husband is bipolar.)
    When we arrived in San Antonio 14 years ago, there was a case going on in the news-I think in Kerrville.A man was kidnapping teen girls, taking them to an old house in the woods, raping them. I don’t think some of them came home. The last news I can remember was that a neighbor called the sherriff department about a strange car at that house.The deputy had to drive down a long dirt road to get to it, and the man and his victim were getting into his car.She ran into the deputy’s car, and the man shot himself in the head. This story has already been forgotten by many people. I would like to see those girls remembered.

  6. MM on June 17th, 2010 6:02 pm

    Diane,

    I was a friend of Stefanie Stroh’s and am trying to find out more about what happened to her. I have been wondering for so long, and imagining so many scenarios. Your book is the best source I have found so far, but I would like to know more. What do you suggest I do to find more information?

    Would you be able to tell me why the FBI no longer considers Tommy Sells a viable suspect, even though he seems to describe Stefanie and the time and place so accurately?

    Thanks so much for any help,
    Sincerely,
    MM

  7. MM on June 17th, 2010 6:05 pm

    Hi again Diane,

    I forgot to ask something else, also. Several sources note Stefanie’s murder as one of Sells’ most “gruesome” or “colorful” murders, yet, I do not find any descriptions of it anywhere, and certainly nothing that compares to the detailed descriptions of some of the other murders in “Through the window.” Is there any explanation you can give to help me understand this?

    Thank you so much again,
    MM

Got something to say?